Friday, September 16, 2011

No Holds Barred: Big John McCarthy

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the legendary mixed martial arts referee, Big John McCarthy.Big John is on a book-signing tour for his new autobiography, written with Loretta Hunt, called Let’s Get It On!This book is a welcome, revealing, and entertaining addition to the library of anyone who is seriously interested in the real history and development of mixed martial arts and combat sports. We spoke with Big John while he was in New York about his autobiography. We discussed some of what is covered in the book, including how he met Rorion Gracie and got involved with the creation of UFC, the problems today with officiating in MMA, what can be done to improve the refereeing and health and safety measures around the world, what his activities are now, and much more. He also called for an independent sanctioning body to control the belts in MMA. "No promoter should be in charge of belts," he said during this interview. "It should be sanctioning bodies as what legally can have control of belts. Because when you have a promoter that has control of their belt, you really don't have the ability to put sometimes the best fighters together. You don't have that." You can play or download No Holds Barredhere. You can also download No Holds Barredhere. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.Also, No Holds Barred is available throughiTunes.The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", byIan Carpenter.No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop?Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site athttp://americantopteam.com/.TheAmerican Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go toussambo.com.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal."King" Mo was victorious in his most recent fight, a first-round knockout over jiu-jitsu and grappling world champion Roger Gracie on the September 10 Strikeforce show in Cincinnati, in a light heavyweight bout. In another candid interview, we spoke with "King" Mo by phone Tuesday night about this fight, which was his first in over a year because of a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He explained his strategy in this fight and why he, a world-class wrestler facing a world-class grappler, wanted it to stay standing. We discussed the interaction of grappling and striking in mixed martial arts, and the aesthetics of watching mixed-style fights vs. those with pure styles. We discussed his uncertain future in Strikeforce after this victory, and the poor attendance and TV ratings for what turned out to be an entertaining card. We also discussed the knockout victory on this same show by his longtime friend, teammate, and training partner, heavyweight Daniel Cormier, who stopped Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the first round. Both "King" Mo and Daniel Cormier were also champions in the now-defunct Real Pro Wrestling organization, and we discussed what led to its demise. We also discussed how he might do in a fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the recent controversies at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships, the upcoming Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz and "Canelo" Alvarez-Alfonso Gomez fights, and much more.You can play or download No Holds Barredhere. You can also download No Holds Barredhere. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.Also, No Holds Barred is available throughiTunes.The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", byIan Carpenter.No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop?Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site athttp://americantopteam.com/.TheAmerican Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go toussambo.com.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

No Holds Barred: Victor Ortiz, Canelo Alvarez, and Alfonso Gomez

On this audio edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with fighters Victor Ortiz, Canelo Alvarez, and Alfonso Gomez.The 24-year-old Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs) will be making the first defense of his WBC welterweight belt against the contorversial but unbeaten 34-year-old Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) in Las Vegas this coming Saturday, September 17. The 21-year-old phenom Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (37-0-1, 27 KOs), will be defending his WBC super welterweight belt against the 30-year-old Alfonso Gomez (23-4-2, 12 KOs), who is on a five-fight winning streak. Alvarez and Gomez will fight that same night in Los Angeles, with both fights being featured on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S.We spoke with Victor Ortiz, Canelo Alvarez, and Alfonso Gomez on prefight media conference calls to preview their fights.In addition, we open by contrasting how two of the ancient combat sports, boxing and wrestling, are presently handling their televising of their world championship events.You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.Also, No Holds Barred is available throughiTunes.The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", byIan Carpenter.No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop?Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site athttp://americantopteam.com/.TheAmerican Sambo Association, which is committed to becoming the premier association in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of Sambo. Sambo is a form of sport, self-defense, and combat established in the former Soviet Union during the early twentieth century. For more information, go toussambo.com.